International City is the sprawl of low-rise clusters east of Dubai, past Dragon Mart, named after countries and built to be cheap. It is the floor of Dubai's rental market, and for sharing that means the lowest prices on this site.
Prices
On Qozey's live listings (6 September 2026) International City has 3 listings, median AED 1,000, range AED 500 to 2,300. The AED 500 listing is the cheapest room on the whole marketplace; the citywide bed space median is AED 874. Supply on Qozey here is thin, so treat the range as indicative and check the live listings for what is available this week.
Getting around without a metro
There is no metro station in International City. The nearest are Centrepoint (Rashidiya) at the end of the Red Line and the Green Line's eastern stations, both a bus ride away; RTA buses run frequently from the clusters to Rashidiya and to Deira. Budget forty-five minutes to an hour to reach Deira, more to Downtown, and a monthly bus-plus-metro pass. Taxis are cheap by Dubai standards because the distances are short in a straight line, but a daily taxi commute erases the rent saving in a week.
The area works for people who work in International City, Dragon Mart, Al Warqa, Mirdif or the Ras Al Khor industrial side, and for people who genuinely need the lowest rent and will give the commute the time.
What the clusters are like
Four and five storey blocks around courtyards, arranged in named clusters: China, England, France, Persia, Spain and the rest. Dragon Mart is the shopping centre for everything. Buildings vary a great deal from block to block, from well-kept to tired, and the same flat layout can be a quiet family building or a crowded bachelor one. Visit at night before you decide. Water pressure and AC are the two things to test on a viewing; ask about the building's sewage and drainage, which has been a known complaint in parts of the area.
Who it suits
- Anyone working in the east of the city, for whom it is close.
- Anyone for whom rent is the only number that matters this year.
- People who want a room to themselves and cannot pay AED 3,000 for it in town: a private room here can cost what a partition costs in Bur Dubai.
Who should look elsewhere
- Metro commuters. Al Nahda and Al Qusais are the budget areas with a station.
- Anyone who wants a neighbourhood rather than a cluster; Al Karama is cheap and central.
The safety point
The cheapest rooms attract the least careful operators. Do every step of the 2026 safety checklist here, especially the questions about who holds the lease and how many people share the room; Dubai's shared housing law now sets a minimum space per person, and the most crowded rooms are the ones that will disappear.
How cheap is International City really?
The cheapest room listed anywhere on Qozey on 6 September 2026 was here, at AED 500 a month. That is the floor of the Dubai market, and it exists because the clusters are far out, the buildings are old, and the rooms are shared hard.
Does International City have a metro?
No. Buses and taxis, or your own car. Budget for the journey before you decide the rent is a bargain — it is the half of the cost that never appears in the advert.
What should I check before taking a cheap room here?
How many people are actually in the room, and whether that number is the number you were told. The 2026 shared housing law sets a minimum space per person, and the most crowded rooms in these clusters are exactly the ones that will not survive it. Run through the safety checklist first.
Prices are a snapshot of live listings on Qozey, 6 September 2026.